When a Pan of Water Taught the Bigger Lesson

August 12, 2025

I recently went to visit family in Jamaica. Because the children were with me, I decided to spend the first half of the trip with family and the second half at the resort. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and wanted that time for us to connect, but let’s be real: staying with family is not a vacation. They still have to go to work, and since I don’t drive on the left side of the road, we were dependent on someone being available to take us around.

Now, I live in the countryside. Or as my husband says, “back-a-bush.” A lot of people might not even know the name of the community, but I can tell you there are many places across the island just like it – humble, quiet, and full of heart.

This trip was especially meaningful to me for three reasons:

1.     My children got to meet a few of their aunts and uncles in person for the first time.

2.     They played with cousins they’ve only seen through a phone screen.

3.     They gained a whole new perspective on the world.

The Shower That Shifted Everything

Now let me paint you a picture.

Our house back home has a proper bathroom with hot and cold running water, pumped from a tank that we refill regularly. On the first night, my son walked into the shower like he always does and turned it on full blast. But quickly he realized – this wasn’t the same kind of shower.

I handed him a pan filled with water and lathered his rag. He looked at me, confused.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” He asked.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Bathe,” I said.

“How?” he asked again.

That moment, that pause, opened the door to a conversation about how I grew up. I explained how, as a child, we bathed this way every day. There were no endless showers. No wasting water. Every drop mattered. It was the kind of teachable moment I couldn’t have scripted if I tried.

The Lesson Hit Different

At home, I’m always saying “Don’t waste the water,” or “Turn off the shower,” but this time, it hit different. He felt the difference. He experienced firsthand what it means when water isn’t always available at the twist of a knob.

That simple pan of water became a doorway to a bigger understanding of gratitude, of discipline, and of how resources use connects to money, family, and survival.

Water isn’t free. Neither is electricity, gas, or time. And yet, many of us live in environments where we forget that.

We forget that someone, somewhere, has to haul water from a well or pray for rain to refill a tank.

We forget that our normal is not the world's normal.

And we forget that financial responsibility doesn’t always start with a budget. Sometimes it starts with a bucket.

So, What’s the Takeaway?

Next time you catch yourself (or your kids) leaving the tap running, flipping on every light, or wasting food on the plate, pause and ask: Would I treat this resource the same way if I had to work twice as hard to get it?

Start a conversation in your home this week about what resources cost, not just in money, but in labor, sacrifice, and access. Compare bills. Look up how water systems work in other parts of the world. Let it be a family discovery moment.

We can’t hold our kids accountable for what they don’t know. But we can expose them to the world beyond their bubble – and that awareness alone can build habits that last a lifetime.